KIRKUS REVIEW

Perlin, a licensed clinical social
worker and the former president of the Northeast Regional Biofeedback Society,
runs an Albany, New York–area practice. Her primary concern is for the
estimated 116 million Americans affected by chronic pain, whose treatment costs
upward of $560 billion per year. She writes that she believes that current
pharmaceutical treatments are sometimes ineffective and that alternative
methods are “actively suppressed by the medical establishment.” Drug
manufacturers, she says, can hide side effects; she also says that there might
be funding bias, noting that the wealthy Mayo Clinic refuted Nobel Prize–winner
Linus Pauling’s findings regarding vitamin C’s role in fighting cancer. The
book starts by discussing some well-known treatment options—opioids, nonsteroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs, and pain injections—but quickly branches into less-obvious
territory. In comparison to pharmaceuticals, the author says, mind/body
treatments are safe, cheap, and effective. Yet promising alternatives that
might mitigate back and neck pain, fibromyalgia, and post-traumatic stress
disorder—such as massage, nutrition, herbs, exercise, acupuncture, energy
healing, laser therapy, and even marijuana—are barely on the radars of doctors
or insurance companies, Perlin laments. All too often, she says, they’re
dismissed as placebos, and chiropractic and homeopathy, in particular, attract
negative publicity. To counter these rejections, Perlin includes an invaluable
section called “Research Results” after describing each treatment type,
providing details of relevant evidence-based studies that suggest health benefits.
She also addresses potential side effects and gives helpful statistics and case
studies—some featuring famous people, such as singer Michael Jackson and
President John F. Kennedy—to show the range of experiences that people have had.
The book concludes on a daring note, proposing a Pain Treatment Parity Act that
would require insurers to cover all credible pain treatments equally, not just
pharmaceuticals. Readers who are suffering and in need of instant solutions may
not want to wade through all the research and industry information in this book.
However, its all-embracing approach makes it suitable for laymen and health
care providers alike.

A book that makes a convincing
health care case, supported by extensive footnotes and references to scientific
journals.

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